Craig Dubh Adventures

06/01/2021

After deciding not to post many more of our I've had a few people say they've really enjoyed seeing the mountains even if they can't get to them themselves, so with that in mind here's a few snaps from yesterday's first NY lockdown walk. It's up Sgorr na Ciche, popularly known as the Pap (or "breast") of Glencoe. At 742m it is far from being the highest mountain in the area, but it certainly commands spectacular views. It's a reasonably quick adventure on a good but in places badly eroded path.

What I love most about the Pap is that on one side you have the remains of an incredibly violent and fiery period in Scotland history - the volcanic formation of Glencoe. Starting some 420 million years ago, this violent period of eruptions and massive magma flows resulted in the formation of a collapsed caldera - indeed Glencoe was the first location in the world where cauldron subsistence was first recognised. It has left us with some of the most spectacular, recognisable and popular mountains in the UK. Turn 180° and you are faced with the beautiful loch Leven as it converges with loch Linnhe, part of the ancient - and still active - Great Glen boundary faultline. This space created by the lochs and lower, more fertile landscape of Glencoe and ballachulish mean that the views go on for miles. Plus I can see my house from up there!!

Stay safe folks ❤️





.equipment

03/01/2021

03/01/2021

"Mordor. The one place in Middle-earth we don't want to see any closer, and the one place we're trying to get to."

.equipment

03/01/2021

A cracker of a day on buachaille Etive beag with Anna and our friend Katie. It was Katie's first winter experience and she certainly lucked out with the conditions! We had a leisurely day introducing Katie to crampons, ice axe and snow conditions. Nice to bump into too!

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03/12/2020

Another top day out at Nevis range with SOAS students shelby, Olivia and Taylor. With crisp, clear conditions and lots of crunchy trails, we opted to go for a bit of an explore away from the normal trails. We discovered that maps tell lies, M-checks are vital and what kit to carry in case of a puncture! Good fun and nice just to be out with a group of keen, easy going students. Thanks guys!

West Highland College UHI British Cycling VisitScotland Nevis Range Nevis Cycles Lochaber Geopark Endura Trek Bicycle

19/11/2020

Cracker of a day out with Angie today in Glen Nevis! We opted to make the most of this rare weather break with a jaunt up Meall Cumhann (698m) via the Steall Falls and Steall ruins. Angie has lots of experience navigating, but was a bit out of practice so we took the opportunity to remind ourselves of a few basic skills along the way - setting the map, taking a bearing, pacing, timing and reading the landscape.

Angie is currently studying a module on geography, so today was a brilliant opportunity for us to explore the impact of glaciers on our landscape, too. Bringing such an interesting subject to life just by being somewhere that you can visualise the transformation in the land is pretty amazing, and certainly helped our understanding of glaciation.

And it would be remiss of me if I didn't give a wee shout out to Poppy, our four legged mountain mascot, who is obsessed with her tennis ball and played fetch constantly throughout the day to keep us entertained 🤣🤣

SOAS UHI Students University of the Highlands and Islands Lochaber Geopark John Muir Trust The Outdoor Capital of the UK VisitScotland Mountain Training

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16/11/2020

If we all put our own twist on the rules then we are not going to stop the spread of the virus. Stopping the spread starts with all of us.

If we all follow the Scottish Government guidance we can help prevent the virus affecting our lives, our mental health, the NHS and get back to a more normal life.

With the death toll from the virus today reaching 50,000 across the UK and as three more local authority areas are moved into tier 3 with tighter restrictions – we are again asking the mountain bike community to follow these guidelines. We all have a responsibility to play our part.

RIDE LOCAL - If you are in a tier 3 local authority area, Scottish Government guidance states that you should ‘travel locally (within around 5 miles of your local authority area) to reach a place to take exercise outdoors'.

GROUP SIZE - Maximum of 6 people from 2 households

CONSIDER OTHERS - Let’s have local communities and individuals praise the behaviour of mountain bikers.

https://www.dmbins.com/developing/covid-19/guidance-for-mtb-riders

📷 Simon Scott

Scottish Cycling The Scottish Government

14/11/2020

Looks ace. Will be immense if the lower section is anything to go by! Get yourselves up there to check it out 😉🚴🚵

30/10/2020

A cracking day out on the bikes with .uhi students Olivia, Shelby and Ma-li as we went for an adventure over rannoch moor along the west Highland way.

The purpose of the day was to gain experience of mountain biking away from the trail centres, in wild feeling terrain in the mountains. The girls put in a sterling effort, and although the forecast was for wet and windy, we got off with only a few heavy showers mixed with glorious autumnal sunshine, all of which my kit handled effortlessly. Plenty of ascent and descent to test the fitness and by the end of the day I think we were all a bit weary!

This is what MTB adventures should look like, lots of laughs, stunning scenery and building confidence in your riding ability. Well done team 💪
uhi

26/10/2020

A wild and dramatic weekend working on the Isle of Skye for

I was guiding Lottie who is writing an article on the hiking that Skye has to offer, but unfortunately the weather dashed many of our plans! On Saturday, however, we did manage to visit the clearance villages of Boreraig and Suisnish through some dramatic coastal scenery. It was incredibly windy, but surprisingly dry, giving us spectacular colourscapes, which photos do absolutely no justice to.

We stopped off at the brilliant for refreshments, a highly recommended stop for anyone passing through Broadford - cakes and service are 10/10!

On Sunday the weather really gave us a kicking, so we opted to do a bit of a whistle stop tour, visiting the Old Man of Storr, the Quirang, Duntulm castle, Flora Macdonald's grave, Uig, Dunvegan castle and finally a windswept and invigorating hike at Neist Point to round off the weekend! Plenty of history and tales, and the weather was spectacular!

Wilderness Scotland Deli Gasta The Portree Hotel VisitScotland Trail magazine Mountain Training

19/10/2020

Anna and I managed to enjoy a fantastic micro adventure over the weekend. It was mostly an opportunity to test out our new bike packing gear and also to get a bit of a break whilst staying reasonably local!

We rode from the front door, over the corran ferry to ardgour, then North West to Glenfinnan before cycling the length of loch shiel. Timing things perfectly (though accidentally) to see the Harry Potter train steaming over the viaduct, we cycled on a few more miles to find an idyllic camp spot by the loch, and enjoyed one of those really spectacular West coast sun sets.

After having been kept awake most of the night by rutting deer shouting challenges across the loch, we carried on South to Polloch, before attempting the insanely steep climb up and over to Strontian. Painful, particularly with the weight we were carrying. But we managed, and enjoyed a well earned brownie and rest at Strontian.

Our original plan was to zip round to kingairloch for a second nights camping, but the forecast was grim and the weather already changing, so we opted to head back for the ferry with dry gear having had an amazing mini camping trip that made us both happy!

A total of 117km, 1300m of ascent and barely saw a car the whole time. Definitely one I want to try on a day and so nice to do it all from the front door!

Kept warm and comfy during the ride by my new Endura kit and incredibly impressed with my Genesis Cdf 30 which chewed up the miles and left me feeling fresh legged!

VisitScotland Genesis Bikes NTS Glenfinnan Monument